From Tempest, November 11-24, 1998

From Hack to Hacker

By Toby Kane

Roughly two years ago, electronica was going to save the boring rock-n-roll world. Aggressive beat box ruled the landscape. Prodigy, the Chemical Brothers, and Orbit combined to the bite of rock-and-role with the megabytes of computer technology. Loops, samples, and atonal noise were becoming the new instruments of choice.

Why not? Loops and samples rarely have the liabilities successful musicians tend to have: monstrous egos, distracting public lives, tempers, drug addictions and countless other character flaws. All loops and samples require are a ton of RAM and a couple geeks pushing buttons behind a console, working the dance floor into an orgasmic frenzy. Who needed live music when DJ's were so proficient?

Let it be clear, this is not necessarily a sarcastic crack on electronica. Even I've been to First Avenue in Minneapolis on the evenings when they don't have live bands. As one dimensional as my musical taste tends to be, I still can't help moving in time with the thumping bass of club music.

While the sight of this West River farm boy gyrating may not be altogether pretty, I do believe it testifies to the growing niche computers have made for themselves in rock music. Not only in performance, but also in composition.

Personally I consider myself more hack than hacker. I picked up guitar for one reason and one reason only: to find something that could accompany the melodies I was hearing in my head. (Make that two reasons, I heard somewhere along the lines that girls liked it. No proof of that thus far.) Luckily, I was able to understand the fundamental theories behind what I was doing thanks to 15 years of trumpet and some torturous time in a bad high school choir. If someone had told me then that computers would drastically change the way music is created, I would have laughed and thrown my Casio keyboard at them.

Today, my understanding of MIDI interface and computer composition is minimal. By no means, do I claim expertise in this arena. However, this fact alone makes me an excellent candidate for a recently released music composition program titled Autoscore 2.0. If I've learned anything about rock music, I've learned that there's usually a difference between players and musicians. Autoscore attempts to bridge the two.

Players learn by lick, obsessing until they can copy that first Zeppelin riff ver batum. Musicians work to understand the music, mastering scales and envisioning arrangements. Players pound away at power chords, sometimes unable to identify the actual notes they're playing, relying instead on instinct. Musicians identify 7th's, dominate 5th's and dorian scales. The end goal of Autoscore is to help players understand, compose, edit and print out their own music, ultimately becoming better musicians.

While programs such as Encore, Symphony and Ballad catered to the skilled musician with the ability to read and transcribe music, Autoscore caters to the hack without a keyboard, the player who would love to see what their music looks like on the screen.The player who wishes to hone their ability to read music, visualize parts and create more intricate arrangements.

Relatively simples, Autoscore requires no special hardware. This alone is probably Autoscore's greatest advantage. Many computer music products have been limited by their reliance on MIDI keyboards to input notes. A MIDI keyboard with cables can easily add another $300 to the price of the software, a prohibitive cost, especially for those without piano or keyboard proficiency.

To operate Autoscore, you only need a Macintosh or PC with enough memory...and a personal willingness to be humbled by your lack of musical knowledge.

Loadable from 3.5 diskette, Autoscore allows the user to record virtually any instrument form guitar, violin, sax to the human voice. Simply plug the provided microphone into your computer, play or sing a note and your composition appears on the screen. Following, you can proceed to edit your composition a number of ways through a sequencer. From pitch transposing to multi-track arranging, Autoscore boasts a number of impressive features.

After recording, you can set different time signatures, modify bass or lead lines and sequence multiple tracks. Furthermore, navigating the menu is relatively easy, especially in Macintosh. Autoscore also comes equipped with a filter that allows it to be compatible with most other music software programs. This is by no means big time recording studio software, but isn't bad for just $119.

Now some drawbacks. Autoscore is not programmed to recognize chords. Bad news for the rhythm guitar player. Playing more than one note at a time is a definite no-no. Doing so tends to confuse Autoscore, as it tries to give its best guess of what you just played. Chords can be built, but they are cumbersome, requiring users to pluck one string at a time, then edit on screen.

The included microphone is also a little bit fussy, especially with singing. The accompanying users guide suggests using do...do...do and da...da...da in place of real lyrics. No doubt that this mantra increases the microphones efficiency, but it also makes you feel as though you're serenading your computer with old Police songs. Enough said on that.

Real life application is Autoscore's greatest weakness. The serious musician who wishes to compose via computer will probably opt for a far more advanced composition program with greater memory, various MIDI voices, etc.

The player who doesn't really want to jump on the computer will probably remain more than happy to plug away at their basement four track.

But there is a market in between, especially for persons looking to challenge themselves and better understand the science behind the music they compose. Ultimately, no computer or software program can write compelling music. However, the growing technology may just help the those that do...do it better.

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